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eliot_4967
Participant
November 9, 2025
Question

Lag when dragging assets in Illustrator 2026

  • November 9, 2025
  • 15 replies
  • 1412 views

Lagging when dragging/moving photos and art

    15 replies

    A
    andrewfelix
    Participating Frequently
    April 1, 2026

    Yes me too. It almost feels sticky. Windows 11, 12 threaded CPU and 64gb memory. No excuses this should be happening. Affinity is buttery smooth.

    Anubhav M
    Community Manager
    Anubhav MCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    April 1, 2026

    Hello ​@andrewfelix 

     

    I’m sorry to hear you’re having similar difficulties with Illustrator. Could you share more details, such as the version of Illustrator installed, whether this happens with all files, and a brief screen recording of the problem, so we can better assist you?

    Also, try the suggestions shared in this help article (https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/optimize-illustrator-performance.html) and let us know if they help.

     

    Looking forward to hearing from you.
    Anubhav

    B
    bristol_8159
    Participant
    November 20, 2025

    Hey all! What solved my issue is, for some reason in Document Raster Effect Settings, the resolution was set to 2,400 ppi. I don't have it higher than 300 lol. It should be default 300, I do not know why it was set so high. 2,400 ppi is overkill for what I am doing. 

     

    This window is found under Effect > Document Raster Effect Settings. 

    S
    szymon_5776
    Known Participant
    November 18, 2025

    RUN ALL YOUR SOFTWARE OFFLINE.

     

    Having had a meeting with my creative director, it seems (on twitter) that adobe is experiencing cloud servers issues.

     

    I just ran all my software offline and all the lag is gone!

      S
      szymon_5776
      Known Participant
      November 18, 2025

      I just started experiencing the same issue this morning (lag, slow performance) when I clocked in to work. I dont' undertsand why, but there was no issue last night. By any chance, silent background updates were rolled out?

        diego.alexander
        diego.alexander
        Participant
        November 18, 2025

        Getting major lag while browsing files, searching cloud documents, and when using the new Projects feature to organize files. I have been sitting on a black screen for five minutes, and I am unable to rename folders inside the Projects features without major lag or freezing. Takes 5-10 minutes just to open Projects and choose my file!

        Abhishek Rao
        Community Manager
        Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
        Community Manager
        November 17, 2025

        Hello everyone,

         

        I appreciate you providing all the information thus far. To further refine this issue, could you please disable Real-Time Drawing and Editing in the Illustrator preferences under Performance and check if the movement improves? Additionally, verify whether the lag occurs in a completely new blank file. If you are utilizing any external devices, such as a Wacom tablet or a 3D mouse, consider running Illustrator without them connected to see if it makes a difference. It would also be beneficial to know if the behavior changes when you switch GPU Performance on or off in the Performance settings or when working from a fully local file rather than a network location.

        If you have a sample file where the slowdown is easily reproducible and can provide a brief screen recording demonstrating the entire workflow until the lag occurs, that would greatly assist me in testing it and discussing it with the team. You might also want to try the recommendations in this article and inform me if there are any improvements: Improve Illustrator performance on Windows and macOS

         

        I look forward to hearing your insights, so we can resolve this issue.

        Abhishek

        S
        szymon_5776
        Known Participant
        November 18, 2025

        Thank you for your response. 

        In my case, there was no issue last night. In other words, this lag and performance issue has been caused by something on the Adobe side within the last 24hrs when I was in bed.

        Could you tell us if Adobe rolled out any background updates since last night for illustrator?

        K
        Kevin_CT
        Participant
        November 17, 2025

        I too have the same issue despite having a Apple M4 Max Laptop with 64GB Memory.  

        2026 update is HORRIBLE, each edit gives me at least 5 minutes on spinning wheel. 

          Anubhav M
          Community Manager
          Anubhav MCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          November 14, 2025

          Hello @eliot_4967, @NevoCohen, @katys43164788, @Alex Bangerter, @Kasper_1881, 

          That does seem troubling. Could you confirm the exact version of the OS/Illustrator installed, your system specs (CPU/GPU/Memory) and if Illustrator behaves this way when using a particular tool/feature or when working on a specific file, along with a small screen recording of the problem, so we can better assist you?

          Additionally, please try the suggestions shared in this help article (https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/optimize-illustrator-performance.html) and let us know if they are helpful.

           

          Looking forward to hearing from you.

          Anubhav

          N
          NevoCohen
          Participant
          November 19, 2025

          Tried everything on that article.

          I've worked on a document for a hour and a half and on top of the (comment removed by moderator) performance that the new version has, it just crashed and all of my work gone to waste. shame that I forgot to save, but seriously I hope you guys go.

            S
            stephanie3262584269zj
            Participant
            November 13, 2025

            I'm having issues moving patterns within an object now. I can scale the pattern but cannot move the pattern with the ~ and white arrow (A) anymore. I'm looking for answers. my short work around was using the move setting and only checking the pattern but now thats not working either. all this happened within hours of each other

            Anubhav M
            Community Manager
            Anubhav MCommunity Manager
            Community Manager
            November 14, 2025

            Hello @stephanie3262584269zj,

            Thanks for reaching out. Could you please share more details, such as the version of the OS/Illustrator installed, your system specifications (CPU/GPU/Memory), whether you're using a pen or tablet as an input device, and a small screen recording of your exact workflow, so we can better assist you?

            Additionally, try running Illustrator after rebooting your computer in Safe Mode (Windows / macOS) and share your observations.

            Looking forward to hearing from you.

            Anubhav

            K
            Kasper_1881
            Participant
            November 13, 2025

            Same. Came here hoping to find a solution.

              Alex Bangerter
              Alex Bangerter
              Participant
              November 13, 2025

              Unfortunately, I don't think there is anything you can do on the user side. When I look at my Mac's usage data when running Illustrator VS other programs (like Chrome, Microsoft Teams, & Microsoft Outlook) It's pulling an insane amount of memory. At times up to 22gb worth when all other (heavy memory programs) are sitting at about 1gb. I understand it's a deminding program and it depends on the project but that's a bit much no?

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